No let-up in rioting, looting across BritainLondon, August 10As Britain simmered under one of its worst riots, Premier David Cameron today said a “fightback is underway” and empowered his forces to use water cannons to crush the violent unrest.

Azim Mohamed, owner of a cutlery hire company, looks at the charred remains of his goods after his store was set ablaze in north London on Wednesday. — AFP

Three Asians killed in Birmingham
London, August 10Three British Asians who were on the streets of Birmingham to protect their community from rioting groups, were killed when a speeding car mowed them down last
night.

A police forensic officer inspects the site where three men were killed by a car in the Winson Green area of Birmingham on Wednesday. — Reuters

BlackBerry helps rioters organise
London, August 10
The rioters causing havoc on British streets have eschewed traditional social networking sites as a way of organising, instead using the encrypted instant chat service on their BlackBerry handsets.

Contempt notice to Malik in 26/11 case
Islamabad, August 10
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of seven suspects in the Mumbai attacks today issued a contempt notice to Interior Minister Rehman Malik for announcing that a judicial commission would visit India soon, though the court had not yet decided the matter.

Honeymoon Murder
NRI to be extradited to SA
London, August 10
A British judge today decided in favour of South Africa’s petition seeking the extradition of Indian-origin businessman Shrien
Dewani, who is accused of plotting the murder of his wife during their honeymoon in Cape Town last year.

Gaddafi ‘dead’ son appears on TV
Benghazi, August 10
Libyan state television today broadcast images of a man it said was Muammar Gaddafi’s youngest son, footage that looks to undercut rebel claims of his death at a time when the opposition is showing signs of strain and disarray six months into its battle with the Libyan leader.

No let-up in rioting, looting across Britain
nForces empowered to use water cannons, never used in mainland UKnLondon calm, but copycat riots spread to other cities across the countrynPM vows to fight back, says won’t allow culture of fear to exist on streets

London, August 10
As Britain simmered under one of its worst riots, Premier David Cameron today said a “fightback is underway” and empowered his forces to use water cannons to crush the violent unrest that spread to central and northern cities from London.

Vowing not to allow “a culture of fear” to take over the streets, Cameron said water cannons, never used in mainland UK, would now be made available to police, apart from plastic bullets, to deal with violence after four nights of rioting and looting by hooded youths who ransacked stores and torched vehicles.

His comments came as 16,000 police officers flooded the streets of London, where clam returned, as Asian and other vigilante groups sprouted to protect their stricken neighbourhoods from roving gangs, who had also burnt down and raided houses and shopping complexes.

“The continued violence is unacceptable,” Cameron announced after chairing the government’s emergency response committee, which took stock of raging violence.

“It will be stopped,” the British Prime Minister said as he ridiculed the rioters as “sick”.

The police and the law enforcement agencies would not be short of resources and would have the full backing of the state behind them, he said, announcing that a “fightback is underway.”

Though a massive police presence ensured that London remained calm now, the copycat riots spread to cities of Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Nottingham, Leicester and Birmingham.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested during four nights of rioting and Cameron said Britain will set up extra courts to quickly prosecute “thugs” who indulged in looting and rioting.

“This continued violence is simply not acceptable, and it will be stopped. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets. We needed a fightback and a fightback is underway,” he told reporters outside 10, Downing Street.

The authorities, Cameron said, would have no hesitation in “naming and shaming” the culprits and rejected that concerns over human rights might hold back law enforcement agencies from publication of photographs of those indulging in hooliganism and violence.

He said his government was determined to bring the full force of law on perpetrators of violence and courts were working overnight for speedy disposal of cases.

In a hard-hitting statement released after the meeting, Cameron said, “There are parts of our society that are not just broken but frankly sick. When we see children of 12 or 13 looting it’s clear there are things that are badly wrong in our society.”

Gang violence raged in other major cities of Britain after spreading there from London, where it had erupted following the death of 29-year-old Mark Duggan in police firing on Thursday.

Rioters broke into stores and ran off with electronic and leather goods, bikes, sports shoes, branded clothes and jewellery with virtually no resistance from the police and security personnel.

In central Nottingham, the Canning Circus police station was firebombed by a gang last evening, while in Liverpool, the Merseyside Police arrested 50 people in relation to disorder in the city.

Cameron said he would make a statement in Parliament tomorrow as it meets for a day-long session to discuss the conflagration that has blighted Britain’s image and raised questions over the security for next year’s Olympics. — PTI

London, August 10
Three British Asians who were on the streets of Birmingham to protect their community from rioting groups, were killed when a speeding car mowed them down last night, making them the latest victims of the ongoing unrest in Britain. The police is treating the deaths as murder.

As in London, vigilante groups have taken over some areas in Birmingham. The three Asians killed have been identified as two brothers, Shahzad and Harry Hussain and their friend Musaver Ali.

The three had emerged from a mosque and were on the streets protecting their car wash company after the previous night’s violence when the incident happened, reports from Birmingham said.

Kabir Khan Isakhel, a relative of one of the dead brothers told Sky News that two cars had approached at high speed and struck the three.

A police spokesman said: “They were not in the way or blocking the road. The car swerved towards them. They went flying up in the air”.

Murray McGregor, a spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service, said members of the public were attempting resuscitation on the men when the ambulance arrived, but that it quickly became apparent they had all suffered ‘significant injuries’.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “Detectives investigating the death of three men following a road traffic collision in Birmingham this morning will today question a 32-year-old man on suspicion of murder”.

The three men were aged 31, 30 and 20. “It’s understood the three were on foot in Dudley Road in the Winson Green area of the city when they were in collision with a car. All later died from their injuries in hospital,” the police spokesman said.

“Officers arrested the man nearby and also recovered a vehicle which will be examined by forensics experts”.

The three were taken to Birmingham City Hospital, where a large crowd gathered this morning at around 5.45 am and police in riot gear stood guard at the main entrance.

The ambulance service said two of the men were pronounced dead soon after arriving at hospital, while a third died later in hospital this morning. — PTI

London, August 10
The rioters causing havoc on British streets have eschewed traditional social networking sites as a way of organising, instead using the encrypted instant chat service on their BlackBerry handsets.

Although BlackBerrys are normally associated with white-collar workers keeping up with their emails, they are used by 37%of young adults and children in Britain, according to recent industry figures.

They are popular because the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) service offers a free alternative to texting and can send messages to many people at once. It is also encrypted, unlike Twitter which was used by protesters in Iran and Egypt.

"If you use Blackberry Messenger it's usually just you or your local group of contacts you've personally approved who can see your messages. That's why they've been preferring to use it," said Alastair Paterson, chief executive of cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows.

He said social media had proved "a very efficient tool for communicating, being able to effectively outwit the police by very quickly allowing them to move between areas that they know the police haven't been to yet". — AFP

Islamabad, August 10
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of seven suspects in the Mumbai attacks today issued a contempt notice to Interior Minister Rehman Malik for announcing that a judicial commission would visit India soon, though the court had not yet decided the matter.

Judge Shahid Rafique of the Rawalpindi-based court issued the notice in response to a petition moved by defence lawyers, who contended that Malik had committed contempt of court by stating in a media interview last month that the Pakistani commission would go to India within 10 days even though the court had not decided on the formation of the commission.

During the proceedings conducted behind closed doors at Adiala Jail for security reasons, the judge directed Malik to respond to the notice at the next hearing on August 13.

“The Interior Minister told the media on the sidelines of a SAARC meeting in Bhutan last month that the commission would go to India within 10 days even though the matter is pending in the court. The court is yet to decide the issue in the light of arguments by the defence and the prosecution,” defence lawyer Shahbaz Rajput said.

“The minister’s remarks have created an impression that he is controlling the proceedings in the anti-terrorism court and interfering in them. The integrity of the court has been affected and the minister’s remarks were prejudicial and that is why we have decided to protest,” he said.

The defence lawyers argued in court that Malik’s comments had created the impression that the anti-terrorism court and the Interior Minister have already decided the issue of sending the commission to India.

The anti-terrorism court is currently hearing two petitions regarding the formation of the commission to be sent to India to interview key persons associated with the 2008 Mumbai attacks, including the police officer who investigated the incident and the magistrate who recorded the confession of lone surviving attacker Ajmal Kasab.
— PTI

London, August 10
A British judge today decided in favour of South Africa’s petition seeking the extradition of Indian-origin businessman Shrien Dewani, who is accused of plotting the murder of his wife during their honeymoon in Cape Town last year.

Dewani, 31, from Bristol, had married Anni Dewani, 28, in a Bollywood-style wedding in India. Annie was murdered in South Africa on November 13 allegedly at the behest of Shrien, who has since been fighting his extradition to South Africa.

Judge Riddle of the Belmarsh Magistrates Court said the “court must consider the strong public interest in honouring our extradition treaty”.

He said while he had “no doubt” that he was suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, he was satisfied he would receive the appropriate mental health care in South Africa.

He said Dewani, whom he described as “good-looking, youthful and physically well-preserved”, would be particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse in a South African jail.

But the judge said he was satisfied that Mr Dewani would be held in a prison with good facilities and that he would be kept in a single cell.

Shrien’s extradition will have to be ratified by the Home Secretary Theresa May. —
PTI

Benghazi, August 10
Libyan state television today broadcast images of a man it said was Muammar Gaddafi’s youngest son, footage that looks to undercut rebel claims of his death at a time when the opposition is showing signs of strain and disarray six months into its battle with the Libyan leader.

The rebels had claimed on Friday that the younger Gaddafi was killed in a NATO airstrike on the western front-line town of Zlitan, a report that Tripoli dismissed as an attempt to deflect attention from Younis’ killing. — AP